India’s compound women’s archery team returned to the medal-winning track under newly appointed coach Dave Cousins by storming into the final of the Archery World Cup Stage 4, while the men’s team narrowly missed out on a bronze medal on Wednesday.
The Indian women’s trio of Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Chikitha Taniparthi and Prithika Pradeep defeated third-seeded South Korea 231-228 in the semifinals to book a place in the gold medal match against top-seeded Colombia, scheduled for Saturday.
The victory marks a significant turnaround for the Indian compound team, with Stage 4 in Madrid being the first tournament under the guidance of American coach Dave Cousins.
India’s women entered the knockout stage as the seventh seed but delivered an impressive performance throughout the competition. They established an early lead against South Korea by shooting consistently in the opening ends and maintained their advantage despite the Koreans winning the final end.
The Indian women’s team will now aim to secure its second Archery World Cup gold medal of the season after winning the opening stage in Puebla.
Meanwhile, the Indian men’s compound team comprising Sahil Jadhav, Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru and Kushal Dalal narrowly missed a podium finish after losing 232-233 to Germany in the bronze medal playoff.
Earlier, the top-seeded Indian men’s team suffered a heartbreaking semifinal defeat against Mexico. The match ended 237-237 after regulation before the shoot-off also finished tied at 30-30. Mexico advanced to the final by winning the closest-to-the-centre tie-break.
In the individual compound events, all Indian archers except Parneet Kaur progressed to the Round of 32, leaving seven Indian archers in contention for individual medals.
